Purdue Postgame

irishff1014

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It only took 21 years, but we finally have a decided schematic advantage.

Imagine being an OC on the other side watching this tape and there isn’t a single place for your guys to run. This is so cool

This defense is sound. Not a lot of missed assignments you see, they surround the ball, and the y play with great heart.
 

PutuporShutup

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View attachment 3064967

Small but really an incredible play here. It was IIRC 3rd and 1. Brewu twists across the centers face and basically absorbs 3 OL. Bowen and Traore twist taking the other two. What amounts to a straight forward dive by Purdue gets met by Mukam and Ausberry being unblocked in the hole. Shuler has the cut back lane as well. No chance. And then Brewu doesn’t just stop, but ends up eating up the RB with Young as he tried to bounce it.

It’s a player, DC and DL Coach clinic. This team does not just go out there and out talent people. Every time I see a media person throw on an All 22 I am in awe at the details they play with scheme wise.

An aside Purdue motions the WR and ND just passes it off is why Gray is deep center. Under discussed we basically play a three safety structure under Ash not really a true BS/FS/Nickel.
What's funny for me is right before this play i was thinking how we have not been good on D in stopping short yardage (not easy but I'd expect better from our front). Before that play on any third and less than 2 yards, the opposition through 3+ games has pretty much ran for the first down every time. On this exact drive they got a first down pretty easy on 3rd and 1 just a few plays before this one. I thought we had been too vanilla and running base D so far in the season vs third and short.

Great to see this.

I know it's talked about a bit but NDs depth is really showing on D. There isn't a single player minus maybe Leonard and the safeties playing big time snaps. Everyone is fresh and hungry. Not only is this huge physically but I think even more important mentally. Mental fatigue in a game is real, it's hard to be locked in every play when you play 60+ snaps. No one is doing that on our D, not even close.
 
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peadeam

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Can someone smarter than me explain the advantages of 12 and 13 personnel as it pertains to the running game? Especially since we don’t seem to be passing to the TE’s much? I would love to know the success rate of running out 11 compared to 12 and 13.
 

PutuporShutup

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Can someone smarter than me explain the advantages of 12 and 13 personnel as it pertains to the running game? Especially since we don’t seem to be passing to the TE’s much? I would love to know the success rate of running out 11 compared to 12 and 13.
Not sure that I'm smarter than you, but I'll oversimplify on how I think ND views these personnel packages. You'd prefer to have great blocking and dynamic pass catching TEs (at least one in 12 or 13 personnel).

But it forces teams to go heavy, and teams are more confident blocking with TEs vs heavy packages, then utilizing WRs in lighter packages. ND tried to have WRs block inline a lot last year, and pretty much no success with that.

12 or 13 personnel can pick up run blitzes and loaded boxes much better than 11 personnel. So take 3rd and short, in 11 personnel teams can easily overload your box forcing you to throw or run into a loaded box. 12 or 13 personnel can handle that much easier. You also can create more gaps easier with TEs. I love Faison's fight, but man, seeing him in the box trying to block DEs/LBs on 3rd and goal from the 2 last year was painful.

But to your point, our TEs haven't shown to be much of a receiving threat (until purdue a bit), so they probably don't respect that too much still and will play the run heavy.

Vs purdue our issues running at times I saw were Williams missing the holes, absher a good bit, craig some, knapp a little, and WRs (Gilbert especially). So a little of everything other than absher a good bit.
 
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The Backer

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Can someone smarter than me explain the advantages of 12 and 13 personnel as it pertains to the running game? Especially since we don’t seem to be passing to the TE’s much? I would love to know the success rate of running out 11 compared to 12 and 13.

The theory behind 12/13 personnel isn't merely "more blockers". What you're trying to do is manufacture additional gaps while retaining uncertainty (to the defense) about where those gaps will be. The changes the run fit math and thus the rules and it theoretically gives your blocking surface better angles. For example, you can use a TE insert so a guard doesn't have to execute a difficult reach block.

If you add a second TE as an inline, there's another gap that you have to account for on defense which is already somewhat challenging since most 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 defenses practice run fits on 11 personnel groupings.

There's a lot you can do with them as a wing or H back, too.
 

Dale

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The NFL trend to go big also doesn’t have the same merit in CFB. NFL rosters are limited and so many teams base out of Nickel that a viable 3rd, 4th LB fell off. Willingness to cover in base fell off. And then the heavy personnel you could add can’t cover these next gen TEs

In college, with 100 roster limits teams are far more likely to have another LB willing to play. You might even say LB is an excess position that is rather easy for teams to recruit. Most TEs also aren’t total freak shows.
 
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